Sands of Change
by Lady Psychic
Summary: [oneshot, shonen ai, Librashipping] Several years after the ceremonial duel, Yugi makes another trip to Egypt.  Several things have changed over the years.  Can a certain blond Egyptian help him cope with the changes?


_A/N: It's now time for round four of the Yu-Gi-Oh Fanfiction Contest: Season 3. This time the pairing is Librashipping (Marik x Yugi). Just so there is no confusion, the Marik in this story is the 'hikari', not the 'yami'/evil personality. Anyways, I hope that whoever reads this story enjoys it._

_Warnings: Shonen-ai, dub names_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or its characters._

**Sands of Change**

Stepping off of the plane and into the airport, memories of the past began to play through Yugi's mind. It had been several years since his previous trip to Eygpt, but for some reason he felt as if he should return. This time, however, he came alone.

It felt strange traveling without his friend, but Yugi didn't have any choices. Joey and Tristen were busy wish their lives and Tea had moved to New York to pursue her career as a dancer. Yugi's Grandpa wanted to come but he had to stay behind and look after the game shop. Because of these factors, Yugi had to endure the long lonely flight to Eygpt.

As he scanned the area, the spiky haired young man spotted three familiar faces among the crowd. A cheerful smile grew on his face, and he eagerly walked towards the small group. They in turn smiled in greeting when they noticed him.

"Marik! Ishizu! Odion! It's great to see you all again!"

"It's nice to see you to, Yugi. It's been along time," replied Ishizu.

"Yeah, we were surprised when we got that letter from you that asked if you could stay with us," added Marik. "Anyways, why did you decide to come back to Egypt?"

"Oh, I just felt like it," said Yugi, as he followed the other three to their car with his carry-on bag on hand.

"So, how long are you planning to stay in Egypt?" asked Ishizu, as she opened the passenger seat for Yugi.

The spiky-haired young man hopped into the car and replied, "About a week." Ishizu nodded in confirmation as she, Marik, and Odion entered the car as well. Soon, the car started and began its trek to the Ishtar's home.

Four days passed by and Yugi seemed to be settling in. However, Ishizu noticed that something seemed to be bothering deep within him. Despite the fact he often wore a cheerful smile, she wasn't fooled. Even Marik and Odion began to notice that there was off with their spiky-haired friend.

"I think something is bothering our guest," Ishizu told her brother that afternoon.

"Yeah, I think so too," agreed Marik. "Do you have any idea what it is, sister?"

Ishizu thought for a moment and replied, "I am not sure, but I have a few theories." When her brother gave her a confused look, she continued, "Have you not noticed, my brother? Have you not seen the difference between this time and the previous time he came to Egypt?"

As his sister's words flowed through his ears, a memory popped into Marik's head. 'Now that I think about it,' he thought, 'didn't Yugi's friends always travel with him? Where are they now? Why aren't they with him?'

Ishizu suddenly interrupted her brother's thoughts. "Perhaps you should take a stroll with our friend, brother. Maybe you can get him to talk about his problems. Besides, he would probably enjoy some company, and a short walk across the desert may do him some good." Before her brother could ask why he should be the one to do it, the female Egyptian said, "I believe you can help him, Marik. It shall become clear very soon."

Meanwhile, Yugi was resting inside the Ishtar's home. He was a little surprised when Marik suddenly appeared a few minutes later and asked if he wanted to go on a walk with him. However, Yugi had nothing better to do and had no reason to say no. Besides, he figured that he needed to talk to someone anyways; so, he quickly decided to accept Marik's offer.

"Yugi, I was wondering why your friends didn't come with you?" asked Marik as they walked across the desert sands. When his companion didn't answer, the blond Egyptian continued, "I remember always seeing them with you during Battle City and during your pervious trip to Egypt."

"Well," began Yugi, "I guess we all started to drift apart after we graduated from high school. Tea moved to New York, and we have only seen her a few times since then. Joey, Tristen, and I all attend the same college, but we all have different classes and different schedules so we don't see each other as much as we used to. Sure, I know we'll always be friends. Tea and I email each other at least several times a week, and I hang out with Joey and Tristen whenever possible. But, it's just not the same."

Silence settled between Yugi and Marik for a few brief moments as they continued their walk. After a while, Marik finally broke the silence. "So, why is it that you came back to Egypt?"

Yugi sighed, "I guess I came to remember all the adventures I had with my friends, as well as the Pharaoh."

"The Pharaoh?" asked Marik.

"Yes," said Yugi, "The Pharaoh was my friend. Even though it's been several years, I still miss him. I guess I'm afraid that I'm losing my other friends as well. In fact, I originally planned this trip for the four of us to be together again if only for one last time. But none of the others were able to make it, so I went alone."

At this point, Yugi was on the brink of tears and Marik had no idea how to comfort him. Finally, the blonde Egyptian replied, "Well, I may not know much about friendship. In fact, it was you, the Pharaoh, and your friends that showed me what friendship was. However, I believe that even though you and your friends may drift apart, you will still be apart of each other's lives. After all, I have only known you for a short amount of time, and you have already become a part of mine."

Then, Marik leaned down and gave Yugi a light kiss on the cheek.

Needless to say, Yugi was quite shocked, and his cheeks both had a bright red blush to them. Marik was also blushing, but it was not quite as obvious on his tan skin. An awkward silence settled between them as they looked each other and a strange mix of emotions stirred within them.

Breaking the silence, Marik said, "I you're uncertain about things, Yugi. I have been uncertain about a couple of things, as well." At that, they both blushed again. "Not just about my feelings towards you," he continued, "but also about other things, too. When I fulfilled my duty towards the Pharaoh, I was happy at first because I was finally free from the burden of being a tomb keeper. However, I later began to realize that I had no idea what to do with my life now that I'm free. In fact, I still don't know what to do."

Suddenly, Yugi smiled at his companion and raised his hand. "Then, let's help each other figure everything out, together," he suggested. With that, Marik gave a small smile of his own and took Yugi's hand. Then, they turned around and headed back, hand in hand.

Soon, Yugi was more or less back to his normal self, much to the relief of everyone in the Ishtar household. However, one thing that had definitely changed was the relationship between Yugi and Marik. During the rest of Yugi's stay, they both seemed to have gotten a lot closer to each other than they had been. Ishizu had noticed this change; thus, she wasn't too surprised when Marik announced that would be traveling to Domino with Yugi and would probably stay there for a while. Odion, of course, was a bit more shocked, but Ishizu assured him that everything would fine in the end.

As for Yugi and Marik, everything seemed to be looking up for them. Though they still were not completely sure about their feelings, or anything else for that matter, they decided to get through this part of their lives together. 'At the very least', thought Yugi, 'the flight back to Domino would not be so lonely.'

**The End**


End file.
